Jefferson County, Colorado voters will decide on November 3, 2026, whether to raise property taxes by $133 million for their public schools, Chalkbeat reported. The Jeffco school board voted for this unanimously on Thursday. The vote drew cheers from the audience, CBS News reported. Jeffco Public Schools serves 74,000 students.
The district says it cannot fix its budget gap on its own. That is the choice facing voters. Board President Michelle Applegate said, "We've tried to live within our means, and it's not enough. And so we're going back to the voters to ask them to invest in our community," CBS News reported. Board member Denine Echevarria warned, "If these measures don't pass, we could find ourselves having to make additional reductions, and that could mean more hardships for our staff, our families, and our school communities," according to Chalkbeat.
The $133 million comes in two parts, called mill levy overrides. Measure 5A would raise $73 million. It would pay teachers, principals, and support staff, and it would fund more career and technical education classes, Chalkbeat reported. A district presentation broke down the $73 million. It said $15 million would cover pay raises the district already promised. Another $39.5 million could go to future raises. More than $10 million would fund career and technical education. More than $8.5 million would go to charter schools, which state law requires the district to fund from override money. Together these parts make up close to the full $73 million. Measure 5B would raise $60 million. It would repair buildings, including leaky roofs and heating and cooling systems. It would also replace old technology and improve security. About $7 million would go to charter schools, Chalkbeat reported.
If both measures pass, homeowners would pay about $42 more per year for every $100,000 of a home's value, a district spokesperson told Chalkbeat. For a $650,000 home, that is $273 per year, or just under $23 per month, Denver7 reported.
Passing the measures is not certain. Board members said some voters are skeptical about how the district spent its last approved increase. They also noted an aging population with no ties to the schools. Only 26% of Jefferson County households have children, according to the U.S. Census Bureau cited by Chalkbeat. History tests the district's odds too. The last override voters approved was $33 million in 2018. That means this ask is about four times larger. In 2016, voters rejected both an override and a bond measure, Chalkbeat reported.
The district says the need comes from declining enrollment and a continued budget deficit, Chalkbeat reported. Reports of last year's cuts differ. CBS News reported $40 million in cuts. Denver7 reported $43 million. If the overrides fail, district leaders said Jeffco will likely close more schools, lay off staff, or freeze salaries, Chalkbeat reported.
Not everyone supports the plan. One resident was the only public commenter to speak against the measures. He said families are "already struggling with rising taxes, insurance, groceries, and utilities" while the district spends money "fighting the federal government," CBS News reported. That was a reference to Jeffco's lawsuit over transgender student policies. He urged the district to disclose the full cost of that lawsuit before asking for more. The U.S. Civil Rights Office says Jeffco's policies violate Title IX. District leaders say their policy follows Colorado law, and they have asked a court for clarification, CBS News reported.